Ready for a New Location
It was Samuel Clemens--better known of course by his pen name, Mark Twain--who, upon hearing a rumor about his own demise wrote a letter to a newspaper reporter with the now famous statement, "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." I feel a little that way after my second bout with Covid last week. My bride and I are all good, we appreciate your prayers, and we are looking forward to being back with our church family this week.
I came across an old story about a husband and wife from Minnesota who decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Because of their hectic schedules, it was difficult for the couple to coordinate their travel plans. So the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, while his wife planned to fly down the following day.
The husband checked into the hotel. This was before smart phones, and the husband was happy to find a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter of her email address, and sent the email without realizing his error.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston, a widow had just returned home from her husband’s funeral. He was a Baptist minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack. The widow decided to check her email, expecting condolence messages from family and friends. But after reading her very first email, she screamed and fainted. The widow’s son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:
To: My Loving Wife
Subject: I’ve Just Arrived Today.
I know you’re surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. Since I’ve just arrived, I thought I would send you an email.
Everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then! Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.
P. S. Sure is hot down here!!!
That story reminds me of another similar account involving a similar error by a florist. A businessman ordered flowers to be sent to the opening of his friend’s new branch office. When the businessman got there, he was shocked to see the flowers with the inscription. “Rest In Peace.” He was so outraged that he stopped at the florist to complain.
“It could be worse,” the florist said, “Just think, today someone was buried beneath a floral arrangement with the inscription. ‘Congratulations on Your New Location!’ ”
I'm not sure if that wasn't an appropriate inscription after all. Depending on where that new location ended up being, congratulations may very well have been in order. All of us are going to face a "new location" one of these days, and hopefully we will rest in peace. But that peace then will all depend on whether we have made our peace now. Or better yet, that God has made peace for us, through His Son Jesus, who reconciled us to God by His death on the cross. That is our hope, through whatever positive tests or pandemics we face.
It's been a crazy month for sure. I know so many people have had Covid the last few weeks, and thankfully the Lord has protected our church body from serious illness, and for that I am grateful. And I guess the good news is that it looks like before long we will have all had it, so that we can finally move on with our lives. In the mean time, let's all do whatever we can to stay healthy, and be faithful where God has us. He is faithful.
I am praying for you, as I hope you are for me, and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.
--Pastor Ken
